RWBY: Wolf
by dfox300
Summary: (Chpt 2 Up)The job of a weapon-smith was once important in Remnant, but nowadays it's a dying occupation, thus everyone was surprised when Professor Ozpin hires a young weapon-smith to Beacon, where he also works as a stand-in teacher and gate watchman. Conspiracies and new danger begin to emerge as Team RWBY discovers his unique ability...
1. Rudolph Weyland

_Narrator: Legends, stories scattered through time. Mankind has grown quite fond of recounting the exploits of heroes and villains, forgetting so easily that we are remnants, byproducts of a forgotten past. Man, born from dust, was strong, wise and resourceful but he was born into an unforgiving world. An inevitable darkness, creatures of darkness. The creatures of Grimm set their sights on Man and all of his creations._

_These forces clashed and it seemed the darkness was intent on returning Man's brief existence into the void. However, even the smallest spark of hope is enough to ignite change, and in time, Man's passion, resourcefulness and ingenuity led them to the tools that would help even the odds._

_This power was appropriately named 'Dust'._

_Nature's wrath in hand, Man lit their way through the darkness and in the shadows' absence, came strength, civilization, and most importantly, life._

_But even the most brilliant light eventually flicker and die, and when they're gone, darkness will return._

_So you may prepare your guardians, build your so-called monuments to a so-called free world, but take heed. There will be no victory in strength…_

_Ozpin(voice over): But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul_

**[Opening conversation between unknown Narrator (voiced by Jen Taylor) and the character Professor Ozpin (voiced by Shannon McCormick), RWBY Episode 1, Ruby Rose]**

* * *

**RWBY Fanfiction: WOLF**

**Chapter 1: Rudolph Weyland**

A few months ago

Jim Weyland grumbled as he opened the door of his shop, only to find a young Faunus girl dressed in black and white outside in the rain. He was shocked, but quickly regained his senses and let the girl in.

"What is your name? Why are you doing outside in the rain and so late at night? Here, some soup to warm you up," Weyland said as he passed a bowl of steaming soup to her.

"I heard them saying that you help Faunus trying to leave the White Fang… Is it true?"

"Er… yes, why?" Weyland replied cautiously.

"Can you help me get into Beacon?"

"What? But shouldn't your parents be the one to-"

"My parents won't allow it. I was born into the White Fang. I want out… I can't take the way they do things anymore…"

Jim Weyland scratched his head, unsure of what to do. Eventually, he decided to help. After all, Ozpin was his old friend, so he might be able to pull a few strings. Not only that, but this girl had the proper graduation qualifications and paperwork from her previous school.

"All right, I'll see what I can do… Rudolph! Come down here! I know you're still awake."

A youth came down the stairs, wondering what was going on. He was surprised to see the guest.

"I need you to look after the shop tomorrow while I take this girl to Beacon. In the meantime, prepare the guest room for her."

"Okay."

The youth went back up the stairs.

"So, what's your name, young lady?" Weyland asked the girl.

"Blake. Blake Belladonna."

* * *

Present Day

"And so I managed to knock out the Ursa Major, bag him in a net and dragged him all the way back to town, where he faced the wrath of the families of those he had killed. Mind you, Ursa Majors are extremely dangerous…"

Professor Port droned on and one about how he managed to capture an Ursa Major, with Ruby once again drawing something on a piece of paper, Blake staring into the ceiling, and Jaune sleeping. In fact, Ruby would have fallen asleep as well, but she was too pumped up for what was going to happen later.

"Oh, look, class has ended. Well, off to your next class then. I heard Professor Ozpin has soemthing special for you all," Professor Port said.

He had just finished speaking when Ruby dashed out the class with the rest of her team trying to catch up.

"Ruby wait!" Weiss called out.

"I can't! I heard that the new weapon-smith assigned to Beacon will be checking our weapons! I can't wait to show him Crescent Rose! They said he is extremely skilled and can pinpoint even the smallest detail of a weapon."

"Oh, so it's about Crescent Rose, is it? I wonder what he'll think when he compares it to Myrtenaster's graceful design."

"If he's as good as they say, he will be checking for effectiveness, not design," Blake replied.

"Ruby, look out!" Weiss suddenly shouted.

Too late. Ruby had a habit of wearing her cloak even though she was in school uniform. As she dashed past a corridor, a man stepped out and trodded on her cloak, causing her to jerk back and fall to the ground. The man himself was also swept of his feet, shrieking as a crate of tools fell on him.

"Ow…" Ruby groaned as she stood up.

"Ruby! Are you all right?" Yang asked, rushing over to check on his sister.

"I'm fine, but-"

"I think you killed someone," Blake commented in a deadpan voice as she and Weiss looked at the man, who was lying on his back with an entire crate of metal and tools on his face.

"Is anyone going to remove the crate from his face?" Weiss asked as she started pushing the crate when the man grabbed it and lifted it up before throwing it backwards.

"Ow, darn, what did I step on?"

He wasn't an adult man as they had initially thought. He was a youth, around their age. He had dark, grayish-blue messy hair, dark grey eyes and a small scar vertically across his right eye. He wore a sleeveless blue hoodie jacket which slightly resembled tactical kevlar over a dark brown turtleneck shirt along with olive green trousers, complete with brown combat boots and fingerless gloves.

"Er… sorry?" Ruby said in an embarrassed tone.

"Eh?"

"I told you your cloak was going to get you into trouble, didn't I?" Weiss reprimanded.

"Oh! So it was your cloak I stepped on. Are you all right?" the youth asked.

"Oh, I'm fine, thanks!"

"That crate covered your face! We thought you were an adult," Yang explained.

"An adult? What are you talking about?" the youth asked, confused.

"She means you shouldn't be carrying stuff around in this manner," Weiss quickly said.

"Yeah, and it blocked my view. Kind of my fault actually. Well, time's a-wasting. Nice to meet you all, but I got to get to work. Ciao," the youth said before he lifted up the crate and left.

"He looks familiar," Blake whispered to herself as the youth disappeared down the corridor.

"Sorry?" Yang asked.

"Nothing."

"Is he one of the seniors here?" Weiss asked.

"Maybe… hey, where's Ruby?"

"Quick we're going to be late! Go grab our weapons from the dormitory!" Ruby shouted at them from the staircase.

"How did she get there so fast?"

* * *

"I see you're early, team RWBY," Professor Ozpin said as team RWBY stood outside their dorms, weapons in hand.

Meanwhile, team JNPR were also starting to emerge from their dorm as well, holding their weapons.

"So, who is this weapon-smith?" Jaune asked.

"I heard he is the foster son of Jim Weyland, one of the best and last few weapon-smiths in Vale," Pyrrha explained.

"What does a weapon-smith do anyway? I mean, most of us get our weapons from inheritance or we made them ourselves…"

"We were the ones who provided the weapons to soldiers in the past. Nowadays, we fix weapons, improve them on requests or assist in maintenance most of the time. Every now and then we make a weapon for those privileged kids that want to become Hunters and Huntresses but are too lazy to make their own. But weaponsmithing is a dying occupation, now that we're not needed much anymore. You can say I'm one of the last few in the trade."

"Ah, Weyland, there you are," Professor Ozpin said as someone walked towards them.

"Hey, it's the guy who stepped on your cloak just now!" Yang said to Ruby.

"He's the weapon-smith?" Blake asked.

"Everyone, I like you to meet Rudolph Weyland. He's one of the last few weapon-smiths around. He will be working here as a support teaching staff for the students from now on. As some of you might have guessed, he's not much older than any of you here. But, I hope you would respect him and treat him as you would treat us lecturers. He'll be inspecting each of your weapons today. Anytime they get damaged and you do not have time to repair it, give it to him and he'll do it for you."

"So, what's your job scope… er…"

"Just call me by my name… Feels weird being called a professor or a 'Mr' when I'm only eighteen… My jobscope is to fix your weapons if you do not have the time, take over for teachers who call in sick or are too busy and security of the Emerald Forest during field trips into that place. All right, weapons up."

If there was anything about Rudolph's reviews, he was extremely blunt. Even the smallest cracks do not escape his eyes as he quickly revealed two on Nora's Magnhild, but he doesn't criticize- he simply informs them of the faults in their weapons and move on, occasionally praising them for maintenance, design or effectiveness.

Cardin, however, proved different. Rudolph grunted when Cardin shoved his mace into his hands, hitting him in the chest at the same time. A look of irritation appeared on Rudolph's face although he appeared fine.

"Well, this isn't very heavy. Not something I expect from a mace this size… It is well treated, but there's a hairline fracture going through the head. You should take a look at it."

Rudolph roughly shoved the mace back into Cardin's hands, nearly knocking him down. Ruby and Blake sneaked a grin as Cardin glared at the weapon-smith.

It didn't take long before he reached Blake.

"Have we met?"

"I'm sure we haven't," Blake replied briskly.

"You look like someone I met, that's all."

After finishing running though Gambol Shroud, he turned to Jaune Arc. At the sight of Jaune, he appeared surprised. Ruby thought she saw Rudolph's eyes emit some kind of electricty for a moment, but brushed it off as her imagination.

"Er… Okay, this might be difficult…"

"What? Is something wrong with my weapon?" Jaune asked.

"No, it's just… You don't look like you can fight well… But…"

Pyrrha gave a death glare at Rudolph, who was scratching his head in confusion. Ruby and Yang also appeared offended, but the thought quickly disappeared when it became obvious Rudolph meant no offense.

"There's something about you… You know what, just forget what I said, let me take a loo- Crocea Mors?"

Now the weapon-smith was wide-eyed. He began turning the shield around.

"No way, no way… this is the real thing, not a replica… How did you… What's your name?"

"Jaune Arc. Why?"

"This weapon was used by one of the heroes of the War centuries ago! I've heard that this weapon was passed down to the next heir every generation… Can't believe it's you… This…"

Rudolph finally tore his eyes away from Crocea Mors, returning it to its owner. He appeared troubled, but when he came to Ruby, his face turned into one of shock.

"This is Crescent Rose. I made it myself," Ruby said, a small air of pride in her voice.

Rudolph said nothing. He was staring at the full form of Crescent Rose.

"Lightweight… High caliber rounds bolt action rifle, slightly oversized blade… Are you Ruby Rose, the one who skipped two years and got into Beacon because of Professor Ozpin?"

"Er… Yes?"

"He was right… This is a very dangerous craft… Do you by chance know a person named Qrow?"

"He's my uncle, a teacher at Signal."

"Now I see why… Good maintenance, no visible damage… You really take care of your weapon, miss."

"Of course, that's my sweetheart you're talking about!"

Rudolph gave a small laugh and mumbled the words 'sweetheart, lol' before returning Crescent Rose back to her.

"Well, Professor, I'm done. I'm heading back to my room… You've got a weird batch of students here. Lots of hidden potentials."

Rudolph left the area.

"Well, now that he's found all the damages in your weapons, be sure to fix them before we head out to places like the Forever Fall again. Anytime you want to see him, just head to the first floor of this building and look for the Forge. It's outside the building, near the gardens."

* * *

Three Days Later

It was Professor Port's class, so everyone was surprised when Rudolph Weyland entered instead of him.

"Professor Port is sick today, so he kind of forced me to take over for this lesson… How does he teach you guys normally?"

"He bores us with his tales of chivalry," Jaune asked, his head already lying on the table.

"He flirts around every now and then," Blake added coolly.

"And he makes weird jokes," Nora finished.

Rudolph blinked.

"Excuse me for a minute," he said as he got out of the room.

Hysterical laughter is heard outside along with the sound of someone hitting the floor with his fists. One minute later, Rudolph walked back into the class, his face showing no sign of laughter.

"All right, I'll just try to do things the normal wa- what is this?"

Rudolph pointed at the gold bust of Professor Port. Ruby and Yang managed to stop themselves from laughing as the weapon-smith's jaw dropped at the sight of the golden bust.

"Remind me not to stand-in for his lessons the next time he's sick," Rudolph muttered as he took off his jacket and draped it over the golden bust.

"So, according to him, you've covered Beowolves, Ursas, Boarbatusks, Nevermores, King Tajithus and Death Stalkers, the basic six most common. I'll leave most of the rare and extinct ones to him. I'll cover one uncommon and one rare creature of Grimm today."

The change in the method of teaching had everyone's attention. Jaune was now sitting straight up while Ruby quickly kept the paper she was drawing on into her pocket.

"So, how many of you have heard of the Diomedes?"

Only one student raised his hands.

"I'm surprised you've even heard of it. This creature of Grimm is so rare that it was thought to be extinct- wiped out during the War."

"What's a Diomedes?" Yang asked.

"This," Rudolph replied as he used a projector to display a picture to the students.

The picture depicts a horse-like creature with flames emitting from its mouth, eyes and hooves. Blake suddenly looked interested in the subject while Ruby and Yang commented on its appearance.

"The Diomedes has the strange ability to emit blue flames, which is also one of their main weapons. Also known as the Nightmare Calvary during the War against the creatures of Grimm, a herd of them is capable of wiping out an entire army simply by charging straight at them. About twenty foot tall, their hooves can crushed an entire man into paste with a single stomp. Thankfully, the chance of encountering one is extremely rare."

"Have you seen one before?" Pyrrha asked.

"Nope. But I have met a survivor of an attack. It happened a few years back. He was among a group of Hunters tasked to kill a Diomedes near a small village outside Vale, but his team was wiped out and he lost a leg himself. According to him, that Diomedes escaped, but not before he left a long scar across its face."

Everyone got the chills on hearing his story. It was different from Professor Port's. Professor Port's stories were of his victories against various creatures of Grimm. Rudolph's first life story was short and he wasn't even involved in it, but it already emphasized on the dangers posed by the creatures of Grimm.

"Did I bring the mood down?" Rudolph asked.

The students murmered something.

"Hey, Weyland, you ever fought one of these Dominis or whatever before?" Cardin asked.

"No, and if I were to fight one I'll be dead in five seconds. Besides, I'm not a Hunter, I'm a weapon-smith who just happen to know more about the creatures of Grimm, unlike someone who can't even pronounce things properly."

That shut Cardin up immediately. Many of the Faunus students he victimized tried not to laugh at his current expression.

"All right, now for the uncommon Grimm. I'm gonna show you guys the Spindleweb. Most are found in the Forever Fall, where they are occassionally seen."

This time, the picture depicts a spider-like creature with sharp legs and four mandibles at its mouth.

"The Spindleweb may be small but they are pack hunters. They're capable of spraying webbing at a distance of thirty feet and their bites are poisonous. Not fatal, but it has a tranquilizing effect that last for two hours. This one I can tell you its weakness since I helped deal with a nest of them once. They're fast, but not built for damage. One hard strike and they're squished. Not like the Diomedes. I've yet to meet one who has defeated it before, or maybe I'm not searching hard enough…"

* * *

"Ozpin, why is Rudolph Weyland here? Most of the students fix their weapons on their own, if you are not aware of that," Glynda Goodwitch said as she entered Ozpin's office.

"Isn't it obvious? He's here as a support staff. He fills in for lecturers who report sick, fixes weapons for the students if they do not have time, not to mention he is very fast and precise, and he makes a good watchman. You're aware that he's our new security guard."

"Seriously, why did you hire him?"

Ozpin sighed. He got up from his seat and began pacing around the office.

"You know about his condition. He isn't the only one to have it, but he's the only one who fights it."

"Yes, but I don't see why-"

"They are coming for him."

That surprised Goodwitch.

"They?"

"They have the same ability as Rudolph. The ones who allow themselves to slip… They want his strength. They blew up his foster father's store once just to get him to join them. Not a very practical way of inviting someone to join your gang of terrorists, right? Unfortunately for them, the Weylands weren't very pleased about it. They killed one and drove the others away. And now they're back."

"For revenge?"

"Yes. And according to my sources…"

Ozpin looked at his Scroll, which was displaying a conversation he had with Qrow.

_R.W. in Beacon?_

_Yes. J.W. shop also protected._

_They have reached Vale. Keep an eye out. One in Beacon._

"One of them is already in Beacon. I was hoping that Rudolph might be able to root him out with his Semblance."

"This is risky, bringing a targeted man into Beacon."

"True, but I doubt they will risk attacking Beacon."

The door suddenly opened, and Rudolph walked in. The usually calm Professor Goodwitch gave a rare look of shock before quickly composing herself.

"They're in the city, are they?" Rudolph asked.

"You've heard everything, I guess."

"I agree with Professor Goodwitch. Bringing me here threatens everyone in Beacon. I had a feeling you didn't just hire me to fix the students' weapons and what I heard confirmed it. But is it really worth the risk of bringing me here?"

"You have dealt with them before. And Beacon's lecturers are very capable of handling any threats to the school."

"That I can be assured, but what about outside Beacon?"

Silence.

"With all due respect, Professor, I always felt this was a risky idea. If one of those clownheads decide to overstep the boundaries, I'm gonna kill that clownhead, and then I'm out of here."

Rudolph gave a short bow and left the office.

* * *

"Is everyone here? Good. We will commence dueling in a few minutes," Professor Goodwitch said to the gathered students as Rudolph stood near her.

Now knowing one of the reasons why Rudolph was brought to Beacon, Professor Goodwitch had relunctantly asked for his prescence during the dueling class. It was distubing to learn that one of their students was targeting Ruby. She wondered how Qrow knew about it, but then remembered that even during their youth he had always been a mysterious person. Ozpin himself admits he ddoesn't know what Qrow is doing half the time despite them being close friends.

She watched as Rudolph scanned the whole area, looking for any signs of trouble. He turned to her and shook his head. She sighed in relief. At least today's duels will be safe. She noticed a shotgun Rudolph was carrying behind his back in a custom-made holster. It was then she realized that his jacket had a curious design on the back. It was cyan, its brighter color contrasting the darker blue of the jacket, and resembled a pair of fangs.

"All right, I'm going to have you all draw lots to see who you would be facing today. All of you enter your names in this computer here and it will randomly group you all into pairs. Hurry now."

When the results are shown, Jaune almost fainted sicne he would be dueling with Ruby. Lie Ren, one of his team-mates, found himself paired against Blake. Weiss was dueling another student, and yang, unfortunately, got Cardin. Ruby saw Rudolph cocking an eyebrow while looking at the screen and shaking his head afterwards.

"Hey, Ruby, go easy on me, okay?" Jaune whispered to her as they watched Weiss quickly finishing off her opponent.

"I'll try, but if you get hurt, just know that I have no intention of hurting you."

"I feel better already…"

"Next, Ruby Rose, Jaune Arc," Professor Goodwitch announced.

Ruby quickly got up to the platform, but Jaune needed some goading from his team-mates to do the same.

"Just remember what I taught you and you'll be fine," Pyrrha reassured the blonde youth, who look like he might die of a heart attack if someone so much as talk loudly to him.

"All right, begin!"

A loud clash of metal hitting metal is heard as Jaune reacted just in time to shield himself from Crescent Rose. He noticed Ruby was holding it in a way that the blade was facing outwards, probably to avoid really hurting him badly.

"C'mon, Jaune! You're stronger than you think," Ruby encouraged.

Jaune grinned as he got up and rushed forward, abeit rather recklessly, and nearly fell when blocking another blow from Ruby. However, he was fighting way better than before. Rudolph observed the way the two combat. He could see that Jaune was rather good at fighting now that his confidence level was increasing, but couldn't help noticing that his fighting methods were lacking. In fact, he seemed more skilled in defense.

He was wondering if he should suggest something to him after the duel when something distracted him.

Pyrrha, who was watching the duel and able to see Rudolph at the same time from where she was standing, noticed the new watchman/stand-in teacher/weaponsmith suddenly stood up straight. She blinked.

She swore she saw one of his ears suddenly become pointy.

Shrugging it off as her imagination, she suddenly saw his arm snapped outwards to his right, his fist quickly clenching itself. Something about the look on his face when he did that gave Pyrrha the notion that he was in pain, but seconds later he appeared bored and listless again. Pyrrha was confused, but decided to concentrate more on the duel between Ruby and Jaune. By now, Jaune was already running out of Aura while Ruby was still skipping circles around him. Professor Goodwitch ended the duel since Ruby was obviously winning.

Finally, it was Yang and Cardin's turn.

"Kick his ass real hard, Yang," Blake said to her as she went up the platform.

"Sure thing! It'll just take a minute or two."

"C'mon… Why did it had to be a girl? Hey, blondie, I'll take it easy on you, how about that?" Cardin taunted.

Yang grinned suspiciously.

"Oh, you'll take it easy on me? You're gracious."

"Begin!" Professor Goodwitch said.

Yang was right. It only took two minutes for her introduce her right fist to Cardin's gut and her left fist to his face. Cardin's mace flew out of his hands as he skidded across the floor and nearly fell off the platform. Professor Goodwitch was surprised at how much damage Yang dished out as she observed Cardin's Aura dropping by a third on her Scroll.

"Go, Yang!" Ruby cheered while Blake an several Faunus students couldn't help enjoying the whole thing. Even the ice princess Weiss was grinning: a rare sight due to her rather difficult personality.

"Damn it," Cardin cursed as he retrived his mace and got serious.

"Wow, you're really going easy on me," Yang said cheekily, which annoyed Cardin even more.

Without thinking, Cardin rushed forward, swinging wildly unlike his usual method of striking in strategic areas.

"He has already lost," Rudolph said as he suddenly appeared beside the members of Team JNPR.

"Woah, how you get here so fast?" Jaune asked.

"I walked, and this place isn't very big or crowded."

"And what do you mean he has already lost?"

"He means Cardin's letting his temper do the attacking for him. See the difference between how he's fighting Yang and how he normally fights the other students? He's giving her a lot of openings," Lie Ren explained.

"Never underestimate your opponent. It's a sure way to lose. Anyways, you guys might want to move to your right by five steps," Rudolph added.

Sensing something bad was about to happen, Team JNPR did just that. Two seconds later, Cardin crashed onto the ground where they had been standing on, his eyes spinning with a strand of air in his hands. Yang was still on the platform, although she was literally on fire, but it quickly quelled and she was back to her original state.

"Er… I overdid it, did I?" she asked Professor Goodwitch, who facepalmed.

The dueling session ended after a while. As Team CDNL carried their still-dazed leader back to the main building, Yang's popularity has increased twice-fold among the Faunus students. As everyone else left, Rudolph helped clean up the place with Professor Goodwitch.

"I'm surprised you didn't find the target, considering your abilities," she said as Rudolph gathered some pieces of metal that was chipped off the platform during one of the fights.

"Whoever he or she is, they're good at hiding, but they've exposed themsevles."

"What? You mean you know who- What happened to your hand?"

Professor Goodwitch pointed at his right fist, which was dripping blood. Rudolph, who had been clenching his right fist tightly the whole time, opened it to reveal a bullet in it.

"Either they suck at sniping, or I wasn't the target as Ozpin originally believed."

* * *

Night, somewhere in Vale's Industrial District

"You fool! You were lucky Weyland didn't see you! You were supposed to take him out!"

A group of five hooded figures confronted someone standing in the shadows outside a warehouse.

"Look, I didn't mean for this to screw up so bad-"

"But you did! Now he knows you're in Beacon! Do you know what genes they inserted into him? If he had joined us he'll be the best damn tracker ever!"

"But nooooooooo, he thinks it consumes his humanity. He can never appreciate the powers given to us, we, the seven who survived all odds. Instead, he chooses to take up an occupation which the world no longer needs."

"Go back and continue your act as a model student, and make sure you don't switch targets again!"

The five hooded figures then walked away, leaving the person in the shadows sulking over his failure.

* * *

Back in Beacon

"The food was good today," Ruby said as she and the others return to their dorms.

"Yeah, but I'm still sore from the dueling…" Jaune replied.

"But you really kicked Cardin's butt all over, Yang!"

The blonde firehead scratched her head sheepishly.

"It was nothing. I just got irritated, that's all."

"Well, at least now we know what not to do to you," Weiss remarked as they turned a corner only to see the rabbit-eared Faunus, Velvet Scarlatina, and Rudolph in the corridor, with Rudolph holding her ears for some reason.

"Hang on, this might hurt a little…"

Velvet gave a small shriek as Rudolph pulled at something.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Blake demanded as she walked over towards them angrily, thinking that Rudolph was messing around with her.

"Don't disturb me! I don't want to injure her ears!"

It was then did everyone realize that Velvet's ears had somehow been tied into knots and Rudolph was trying to release them.

"All right, last knot… This will hurt a lot!"

"Ow!"

Velvet's ears finally came free as she quickly held them in her hands, massaging them.

"Thank you Mr Weyland, I… I'm not sure what to say…"

"Who did this to you? Was it Cardin?" Blake asked.

Velvet nodded. It was hard to imagine that this shy and timid girl was actually a skilled fighter.

"Great… I knew he was a racist bastard. Want me to gut him for you?" Rudolph asked Velvet, suddenly looking very sinister.

"Gut me?"

Cardin and his cronies appeared. Velvet quickly retreated behind the rest. Rudolph gave a bored glance at them.

"Here I am, Weyland. Try and gut me, if you think you can."

Cardin waved his mace in a threatening way in front of Rudolph, who motioned for the others to stay back.

"Fighting in the halls isn't allow, so I've heard."

"Oh, nobody's watching us. Besides, you're a staff here. What happens if you attack me? You might lose your job."

"That is true."

Cardin swung the mace towards his head suddenly.

"Look out!" Ruby yelled.

The sound of metal hitting flesh is heard, but to everyone's shock, Rudolph didn't even flinch. He just stood there with the mace against the left side of his head. A normal person would have gone down with a concussion, but Rudolph was just standing still. Either he knew how to take a hit without felling pain, or he's really good at self-control.

"That's a weak swing, clownhead. Try the right side now," Rudolph said as he tapped the right side of his head.

Cardin fell for the bait. He actually attacked Rudolph again, with the same result. There wasn't even any bruising or cuts.

"That's not normal…" Pyrrha whispered.

"Now the top, clownhead," Rudolph said as he bent his head forward, clearly freaking Cardin out.

When Cardin hesitated, Rudolph pulled out the shotgun that he had been carrying on his back. In a swift movement, the shotgun had retracted to the size of a large pistol and Rudolph was holding a cyan-bladed sword in his hand. Two cuts appeared on Cardin's armor as some hair fell from his head.

Cardin fell backwards on his butt.

"What the… You're not normal…"

"No, I'm messed up in a way you cannot imagine. Now, Professor Ozpin gave me free reign to dop whatever I want in Beacon apart from tearing the whole place down, which means I can attack you if I want to. Take this as a warning, and I find Miss Scarlatina's ears in a knot the next time…"

Rudolph tapped his sword on both Cardin's abdomen area and the jewels area.

"You're gonna find out that the human body has several things that can be twisted into a knot… Now I know you don't respect me because I'm just a year older than you and I'm technically one of your lecturers. I don't mind that since you four aren't the only ones, but _don't ever screw around with me_. Now git!"

Team CDNL quickly scrambled away, realizing that Rudolph is someone you do not want to piss off. Sighing, Rudolph held the gun and sword together as the gun barrrel extended, revealing a scabbard underneath it which the sword is kept in. Holstering the gun again, Rudolph turned around to leave, only to see everyone staring at him like they had seen a ghost.

"What?"

"Your face just now… You looked so evil!" Weiss shouted.

"You're creepy," Blake added.

"I've never seen such malice in a person before," Ren commented.

"You looked like a psychopath!" Nora exclaimed.

"Er.. .thank you?"

Everyone nearly fainted when Velvet thanked Rudolph and gave a slight bow to him, completely breaking the flow, causing him to start knocking his head with his fist again.

"Look, just avoid people like him, okay? I'm going back to the Forge," Rudolph said to Velvet before leaving the area.

* * *

"Seriously, the look on his face just now! I'm going to have nightmares from that," Weiss complained as Team RWBY prepared to turn in for the night.

"Yeah, but he's kind of cool, you know, when he whipped out that weapon of his. I wonder what he calls it?" Ruby said as she removed some books from her bed.

"Hey, where's Blake?" Yang asked.

True enough, the Faunus was missing.

"Oh, she said she was going to find Creepy. She said Gambol Shroud appears to have a crack in it," Ruby explained.

"Who is Creepy?"

"OH, well, Blake called Rudolph creepy, so I thought I just call him that."

"Ruby, do not ever call him that. I swear, he can stare someone to death with that expression…" Weiss warned.

Meanwhile, Blake was outside the Forge, which resembled a small hut. She knocked on the door. After five minutes, Rudolph opened the door.

"What time is it already… Wait, Blake?"

"We need to talk."

The Forge was technically a workshop with spare parts and tools all over. There was even an actual forge in the middle of the room, but at the moment it was not on fire. Rudolph led her into a smaller room which serves as his living quarters. There wasn't much in there, just a couch, a television, two chairs and a wardrobe. On the floor was a mess tin and two packets of solid fuel.

"You live like this?" Blake asked.

"Yeah, but I doubt that's what you want to talk about."

"I remember you. Jim Weyland's foster son."

"No wonder I found you familiar… Wait, you actually remembered me? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

"Not a lot of people knows my former affiliation with the White fang. I want to keep it that way. I was afraid you will spill the beans."

"True, true. So, why are finding me at such an hour?"

"Your weapon. It's familiar. I want to double check."

"Azure Fang? It's here, but what do you want to know about it?"

"A former friend of mine has a weapon somewhat similar to it…"

"I see. Well, my foster dad, Jim Weyland, created two firearms that can be used as scabbards about five years ago. The first was a red-bladed sword and a rifle that can be straightened out into a sheath. He called it Crimson Fang. I remember the guy who received it. Red haired, black badass jacket, wore a mask."

"And Azure fang?"

"Azure Fang is the younger brother of that weapon. Unlike the older brother, Azure Fang's sword is kept beneath the barrel, allowing the gun to fire, but once the sword is required, the barrel retracts, releasing the sword at the same time."

"And which one is stronger?"

"Wilt and Blush. Sharper blade, better rate of fire… But it all comes down to the wielder's skill. Why are you asking me all this? It's a bit strange."

Blake remained silent for a while.

It was at this moment Azure Fang suddenly emitted some kind of pulse.

"What was that?" Blake asked nervously.

For a moment, Blake thought she saw Rudolph's eyes emitted some kind of electricity. Rudolph held Azure Fang in his hands, his face looking rather worried.

"A resonance. The older brother is close…" he finally replied.

The room suddenly became silent.

"So, out with it. Why did you ask me about Azure Fang? Or do you know about the older brother."

"Nothing… I was just interested, that's all."

Blake quickly left the Forge, leaving a confused Rudolph wondering what all that was about.

* * *

Somewhere in Vale

Adam Taurus watched from the rooftop of a building. Beacon Academy was a distance away. He's finally tracked her down after she abandoned him on that damn train. He suspected that Jim Weyland may have been the person she turned to after deciding to leave White Fang, but he was one of the White Fang's original leadership, which means he cannot be touched without consequences.

Forced to rely on mercenary information brokers, he quickly learnt that Blake had enrolled in Beacon Academy. He was surprised that she had the qualifications and paperwork. How she kept her academic life a secret form her parents was a mystery to him.

Nevertheless, he knows what his mission was. Either she comes back to the White Fang, or he deals with her on the spot. He didn't want to threaten her or brand her a traitor, but her recent actions have left him without much choice.

As he walked away, Wilt and Blush suddenly emitted some form of pulse. Adam looked at it, surprised by what happened. Something tells him that he might run into more trouble than he expected

* * *

Chapter 2: Lightning

Still confused about Blake asking him about Azure Fang's information, Rudolph found himself having to contend with the new nickname Teams RWBY and JNPR gave to him: Creepy. Meanwhile, still smarting from his double humiliation, Cardin wants to get back at Yang, but is too scared to even go near her. Ultimately, he takes his frustrations out on Ruby during another training in the Emerald Forest, only to put her in a dangerous situation and forcing Rudolph to charge to the rescue. In the process, he reveals a secret about himself.

* * *

**Weapon: Azure Fang**

**Form 1: Auto shotgun**

**Form 2: Pistol shotgun, sword**

**Slightly resembling a Remington 870 (which is a ****pump-action shotgun in real life****), Azure Fang is an azure-coloured automatic shotgun with a retractable barrel. When the barrel retracts, it reveals a cyan-bladed sword hidden right below the barrel. The sword itself has a retractable blade, so it can be used as a dagger and a sword. The shotgun becomes something like a pistol shotgun when it retracts, but the downside was a reduced range and rate of fire.**


	2. Lightning

**Some spoilers (I love spoilers, don't read this portion if you don't like spoilers)**

**Azure Fang will receive a new form soon**

**And no, no plans to ship characters. Rudolph's character is to serve as a 'big brother' role.**

* * *

**CHAPTER TWO: Lightning**

Rudolph scratched his head as he thought about Blake's words last night as he walked to the classrooms. To be honest, he didn't understand any of it, but he suspect that something must have happened to the weapons his foster father made. The Double Fangs, he called them. Azure Fang was safely with him, but Crimson Fang's status was still unknown.

He remembered that red-haired man who bought Crimson Fang, almost five years ago. Something about him was off, but Rudolph didn't want to deny his foster father a customer at that time so he only revealed his concerns after the customer left. True enough, Jim Weyland also suspected something wasn't right with that man, but he felt that the red-haired man might be able to do something good with Crimson Fang.

Profesor Port was still out, with Rudolph and Ozpin beginning to suspect that someone may have slipped laxatives into his food, so the weapon-smith has been forced (yes, forced) to take over another of his class. This time, he brought along a large box to cover the golden bust of Professor Port- he finds it unnerving, as though it was watching him.

Unfortunately, that was just the start of his bad day.

"Morning Creepy!" Ruby greeted the moment he stepped into the classroom.

Everyone giggled, except Cardin who was sulking at one corner, and Weiss, who facepalmed.

"You can't just give someone a nickname after only meeting him for six hours!" she complained.

"Not my fault. Blake started it."

"What? Don't go pushing the blame on me, Ruby."

Rudolph sighed.

"Which part of me is creepy?" he muttered as he set up the projector.

Once things had settled down, Rudolph began the lesson.

"All right, so Professor Port asked me to do all this today. Remember the previous lesson where I told you all about the Grimm known as the Diomedes? Turns out he encountered a Diomedes once and killed it instead of the usual capture. I thought he was kidding until I saw the taxidermy in his home. He wants me to tell you all about the battle he had with that Diomedes as part of today's lesson."

Rudolph pulled out seven pieces of paper from one of his pockets. He quickly glanced through them and almost fell asleep before shaking his head and looking up.

"Okay, so apparently he was in his younger days when his team was asked to take out a Diomedes, but during the initial attack, they were forced to retreat, and he later set a trap which succeeded in trapping two of the Diomedes's legs, allowing his team to finally beat it down. He wanted to drag it back to the city, but his team-mates found the Diomedes too dangerous and cut its throat."

Rudolph dropped them on the table and switched on the projector.

"That was fast," Nora pointed out.

"Of course. You guys are going into the Emerald Forest later. I know that's where you all undergo the initiation thingy, but it doesn't make it any less dangerous so I need you all to be at full attentiveness and concentration when you are in there, so I summarized a fourteen-page essay of boring to a five-lined paragraph. Anways, when you guys go in later, be on the lookout."

Rudolph displayed a picture of another Diomedes, this time in a forest.

"This picture was taken three days ago in the Emerald Forest. See the head? Remember the previous lesson where I told you about the Diomedes survivor I interviewed. Same creature here. That's a scar he left on it, shaped like a lightning bolt. Professor Ozpin codenamed this Diomedes, Lightning. Luckily, it's at a ridge further into the forest, but don't let down your guard. If you see it, run. No heroics."

* * *

"C'mon, Cardin, you've been sulking for a long time," Russel said as Team CRDL walked down the corridor.

"Yeah, no shame in losing to that blondie. She's one of the stronger students in our level. I heard she trashed up a nightclub in the city once," Sky added.

"Shut up, both of you. I'm trying to stay calm and forget about all this," Cardin growled as he turned a corner, only to see Team RWBY walking away.

It was then he noticed that the little girl in red which he normally ignored was talking to Yang, calling her 'sis' at one point.

"Hey, who's that squirt with the blondie?" Cardin asked his team-mates.

"Oh, the one in red? She supposedly skipped two grades and got into Beacon. The blondie's sister, I heard, but I don't see any resemblance," Russel replied.

Cardin simply gave a nasty smile.

* * *

Emerald Forest 'Launch Bay'

"Wait, just three teams?" Rudolph asked as Teams RWBY, JNPR and CRDL gathered in front of them.

"Yes, Rudolph. Professor Goodwitch is dealing with the rest at the moment," Ozpin replied as he passed a Scroll to him.

"All right, everyone. The last time you were in the Forest, it was to retrieve relics as part of your initiation. Today's a bit different. Ruby, Jaune, Cardin, Step forward."

The leaders of each team were then given a smaller version of the relic they choose during their initiation. Ruby got a small White Knight piece while Jaune and Cardin received a white rook and a black bishop respectively.

"Now, the main goal of today's session is for each team to obtain the other team's relic piece, which means team members need to protect their leaders as well as get the relic piece from the other team. How you plan to do it is up to yourselves."

"What happens if you lose the relic?" Jaune asked.

"Extra homework, more training, and a re-evaluation. Now, onto the launch pads," Professor Ozpin replied nonchalantly.

Ruby and Pyrrha stood beside each other when they both unconciously looked back at Rudolph. His eyes seem to emit an electric current twice, but nothing else came from it.

"You see what I saw, Ruby?" Pyrrha asked.

"Electricity from his eyes?"

"Yeah. I saw it happen a few days ago. It seems to be his Semblance, but what I don't get is that insane amount of Aura inside him…"

"Insane amount of Aura? That's-"

"Launching!" Rudolph suddenly yelled.

The twelve students were then sent flying into the air, with Rudolph waving goodbye from where he was standing. As soon as they were out of sight, Rudolph turned back to Professor Ozpin.

"You really suck at lying, Professor."

"Really? The three years of studying psychology must have paid off."

"I don't need psychology to see what you're thinking. This kind of test… Anyone with a competitive personality is going to fail. Pyrrha Nikos is the most sensible out of the twelve, so I suspect it won't take long for her to figure out what this really is about. Problem is how to convince the others."

"Speaking of her, what about Jaune Arc? I've told you about his transcripts."

"I'm still surprised that you let him in despite knowing they're fake, but I must admit, he has a lot of potential. His Semblance appears to be defensive in nature and he's Aura supply is high and still rising, but for some reason he can't utilize them because something's holding him down. Lack of confidence and poor fighting style, I believe. I wonder why he wasn't taught how to fight…"

"Interesting. By the way, I heard you've been picking fights with Cardin."

"It's the other way round, Professor. I was tempted to show him my buddy-"

"No. Not now. I know you'll eventually reveal it but not now."

"You know they can still detect my location without me summoning it, right?" Rudolph replied as he and Professor Ozpin returned to keeping tabs on the students.

"Keeping it a secret prevents 'them' from detecting you faster."

"Pointless. They already know where I am. Someone shot at someone in a dueling session a few days back."

"I heard. Glynda told me you caught a bullet without alerting the students. And you suspected that it wasn't aimed at you?"

"That's the problem. I recognized that bullet. Only one guy make this kind of 'drill bullets'… They already know I'm here. Someone in this school is part of 'them'… And I'm not the only one he or she is trying to take out."

* * *

Jaune managed to land on a tree by stabbing his sword into the trunk. Pulling it free, he began his descent, only to see Yang land nearby, causing him to quickly climb back up. Luckily, the firehead didn't see him as she proceed to run off, probably to search for Ruby.

"That was close," Jaune said to himself as he began to climb down again, sliding down the tree trunk halfway and landing right beside Blake.

"Oh, hi Blake," Jaune greeted.

_Blake!_

Jaune shrieked, got up and ran off. An amused Blake chased after him.

"The relic piece, or I'll get serious," she called out.

"Oh yeah, well… catch me first!"

Sadly, speed happens to be one of Blake's strengths. Ruby was the fastest among them all, her Semblance being speed itself, but Blake could move faster than normal. Jaune looked like he was going to cry as Blake quickly caught up with him.

A shot saved him from getting caught, however. Blake immediately looked up, only to see Lie Ren coming towards her.

"Sorry it took so long, Jaune," Ren said as he and Blake prepared to fight, with Jaune providing support.

Just then, Yang popped out from a nearby tree.

"Oh, hello! I've been searching for you guys!"

Ren and Jaune looked at each other and nodded.

"Hey! Where you both going? Wait! Give us your relic!"

The two boys from Team JNPR ignored Yang as they doubled their running speed. Yang and Blake continued to chase after them.

* * *

"Ah ha ha ha, look at them running from girls," Rudolph laughed as he pointed at his Scroll which was showing Jaune and Ren running from Blake and Yang.

Ozpin shook his head slowly before switching views to see the rest.

* * *

Ruby managed to land safely on the ground by stabbing Crescent Rose's blade into a tree, preventing her from falling and instead causing her to slide down the bark. By the time her feet touches the ground, the whole tree had nearly been cleaved into two vertically.

"Urgh, I've flown too far away… Where do I go now?"

Without trying to find her bearings, Ruby simply run whatever direction she wanted.

* * *

Pyrrha looked from the tree she had landed on, trying to scout out the area before making her move. She saw one of Team CRDL's members crashlanding into a bush nearby before jumping out and running away. Pyrrha decides to follow. However, as she was about to take after him, she suddenly stopped, beginning to wonder about Ozpin's words. There was some kind of meaning hidden inside…

* * *

Weiss dusted the leaves and soil off her clothing before leaving the area, hoping to find Ruby and the others. Although Ozpin said the main goal of this session was to obtain the other team's relic, she had this feeling that the actual test was to keep their own relic safe, which means Ruby is to be protected.

* * *

"Technically, the teams are given the choice to either protect their relic to the end, or try and take the other teams' relic, thus making their own relic more vulnerable. What are you trying to test out of them?" Rudolph asked.

"Personality," Ozpin said.

"A test of personality?"

"I thought you already figured it out? You have your Semblance to see things, after all."

"Out of respect for privacy, I don't use Veritas unless necessary. I wish I did now. This test is too dangerous. That scarred Diomedes we call Lightning is in the forest."

"That's why you're here."

"I can't guarantee that I can protect them or even survive the Diomedes, you sneaky old man," Rudolph replied.

"I will take responsibility for any mishaps. Besides, you always downplay your strengths. And please, don't ever call me an old man again."

"Beats clownhead, doesn't it?"

"Anyway, Rudolph, what do you think of these students?"

"Ruby Rose is reckless but thinks as she goes, Weiss Schnee is a bit uptight but loyal, Blake Belladonna, she's a bit too mysterious even for me."

"I am told you have met her not long ago, about a few months back?"

"Fifteen minutes."

"All right, what about the rest?"

"Yang Xiao Long is rather open-minded, but I feel that she's got a hidden temper in her. That's for Team RWBY. Now, for Team JNPR. Jaune Arc, lots of potential, but lack of confidence and proper training. Pyrrha Nikos, naturally altruistic, humble, but I can't help but feel that something is bugging her a lot. Nora Valkyrie, in my opinion, she's a bit of an airhead who sometimes can't take things seriously, but nothing to worry about. Lie Ren seems decent and normal enough."

"What about Team CRDL?"

"Sorry, Professor. They're hopeless. Cowardly bullies is all I can describe of them at the moment. Cardin Winchester is the only one that shows promise, but his racist attitude and personality makes me want to murder him, rip his throat out, slowly, then gouge his eyes and…"

At this point, Rudolph's face twisted into a sinister look of sadism. Ozpin coughed, causing Rudolph to realize what he was doing and quickly go back to normal.

"Now I know why the students gave you the nickname Creepy," Ozpin said in a joking way.

"Anyway, if you need me to make a more accurate observation of them, you'll have to pay me. I don't like prying into other people's stuff, you know. I need incentives."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow.

"Pay you in slushie, you mean…"

"Lime and strawberry flavour."

"Yes, yes… SO, you understand how this test works now?"

"Everyone keeps their relic, everyone wins. One group gets another relic, everyone fails."

"Exactly."

Rudolph suddenly looked up, sensing something was wrong. He turned to stare out at the Emerald Forest. There was no mistaking it. There was soemthing blue emitting from the forest.

"Professor Ozpin, I think you better contact the Hunters patrolling the area."

"Is something wrong?"

Rudolph pointed to the faint blue glow in the middle of the Emerald Forest.

"Tell them they're not doing a good job."

With that, Rudolph unsheathed Azure Fang and rushed into the forest before Professor Ozpin could stop him.

* * *

Cardin and Russel somehow landed next to each other by luck.

"Well, ain't I in luck, at least one of you guys showed up."

"Damn it, they could use other methods to drop us off in the forest, don't you think, Cardin?"

"Never mind about that. I saw the red squirt while I was still sailing through the air. She's nearby, so we'll just have to ambush her."

"And just how are we supposed to do that?"

"Well, let's see if she's really a goody-two-shoes. Here's what we'll do…"

* * *

Ruby heard someone crying out in pain as she ran down a path. Wondering who it was, she cut into the bushes, only to see Russel pinned down under a log.

"Get this thing off me!" Russel yelled.

Ruby had half a mind to turn away, since Russel was as much a jerk as Cardin, but then realized that abandoning him was equal to leaving him to his doom since this was the Emerald Forest, not the City of Vale.

"How did you get yourself stuck underneath it?" Ruby wondered as she went over to get him out.

It was at this point Cardin sprung his trap, striking out from the bushes and hitting Ruby in her ankle with his mace. The young girl cried out in pain as she fell to the ground, holding her ankle.

"Got her!" Cardin said as Russel crawled out from under the log, having faked being pinned down.

"Cardin, I think you overdid it," Russel said when he saw Ruby's current condition.

"Shut up and help me get the relic from her."

"But-"

"C'mon, hurry."

"Okay, fin- what was that?"

The two boys turned around the moment they heard something approaching from behind, sending soft tremors across the ground. They looked up nervously to see a towering creature resembling a horse, with a lightning-shaped scar across its face and a mane of blue flames down its neck.

The creature snorted and began pawing the ground before opening its mouth to neigh, revealing a set of sharp teeth.

"Diomedes!" Russel and Cardin shouted in terror as they ran off, completely abandoning Ruby, who was now desperately trying to limp away.

_That thunderbolt-shaped scar on its face… That's the Diomedes Rudolph warned us about, Lightning!_ Ruby thought as she used Crescent Rose as a walking staff to move faster.

The Diomedes, Lightning, observed her movements and went after her immediately, but Ruby managed to lose it by sliding down a small cliff. As Lightning searched for her in the wrong direction, Ruby used this time to quietly sneak away.

"Damn it, my ankle… It hurts," Ruby moaned as she continued to limp away.

As she continued down the path, she began calling out for the others. Unfortunately, the last thing you should do when you're being hunted is to make a lot of noise.

"Eeek!"

Ruby fell to the ground in shock when she saw Lightning standing in front of her, just a few feet away, staring at her intently. Crawling backwards, she switched Crescent Rose into its gun form and began firing at the scarred Diomedes, who doesn't seem to be affected by the attacks...

* * *

"You know, something's off about this whole test," Pyrrha said to Weiss as the two of them searched for their team-mates.

"You think so too?"

"I mean, the goal is to obtain the relic piece of the other team's leader, but… For some reason, I have a feeling that there is something else hidden in the goal, like as though that was the real test."

Suddenly, Nora appeared from above a tree, scaring Weiss.

"Nora! Don't do that again!" Weiss complained.

"Pyrrha! You got a hostage! Let's trade her for their team's Relic piece!" Nora joked, causing Pyrrha to headpalm and sigh.

Suddenly, they heard the sounds of male screaming. All three of them turned around to see Jaune and Ren still runnnig from Blake and Yang. The two stopped in front of Pyrrha, panting badly. Yang and Blake also stopped chasing them, having exhausted themselves.

"Yang, Blake, what are you doing?" Weiss asked.

"Trying to get the relic piece from Jaune," Blake replied.

"I don't think that's what Professor Ozpin intended," Pyrrha said.

Pyrrha and Weiss explained what they had thought about this test Professor Ozpin had put them up with. Unfortunately, the others didn't seem to get it.

"We pass the test if we don't try to get the other team's relic?" Jaune asked, confused.

"I think that was the intention. Professor Ozpin must be trying to test us on something other than winning," Pyrrha replied.

"I still don't get it," Yang said.

"Look!" Nora called out.

Everyone turned to see a burst of blue fire from the tress a distance away. The next thing they know, Rudolph Weyland suddenly appeared, leaping over them all from one tree to another, quickly disappearing.

"What the- he's moving as fast as Ruby when she's speeding around!" Weiss pointed out to the others.

"Something must have happened. C'mon, let's follow him!"

Given the speed Rudolph was travelling at, it was impossible to catch up, but since he left a trail of minor destruction and tracks in his wake, it was easy to tell where he's heading.

* * *

Ruby continued to crawled away as Lightning approached, snorting out blue flames. Her ankle hurt as hell, and she was still shocked that Cardin and Russel actually just left her and ran.

_What should I do?_ She thought as she turned around, clutching Crescent Rose close to her as Lightning raised one of its hooves, ready to squash her.

"Hey clownhead!"

The scarred Diomedes turned its head, only to get shot in the face several times as Rudolph flew out from the trees firing Azure Fang.

"Creepy! You're here!"

"Dammit stop calling me that! I have a name, squirt!"

"Rudolph, look out!"

"Oh, you finally decided to call me by my actual na-What?"

Lightning slammed a hoof into Rudolph, sending him cartwheeling into the nearby bushes before turning back to Ruby, who was firing several shots at it. However, when it saw movement in the bushes where Rudolph landed, it immediately unleashed a stream of blue flames into the bushes, torching the entire place.

Ruby screamed out the weapon-smith's name as the whole place burned up. There was no way he could get out of it unscathered. Satisfied that Rudolph was no longer going to be a threat, Lightning turned its attention back to Ruby. It stomped down on her, missing her by inches because she rolled out of the way. Furious, Lightning unleashed its flame attack on her. As the fire approached, Ruby could only stare in terror when something happened.

Ruby, still holding onto Crescent Rose, found herself being lifted into the air. She looked up to see Rudolph, covered in soot and having some burnt damages on his clothing, carrying her and leaping out of danger. It was then she saw the expression on his face. It wasn't the goofy look he normally displays, nor the sinister creepy face he shows when making threats, but it was a look of determination. For a moment, she thought he looked kind of cool.

It was at this point a large, blue translucent wolf burst out from the nearby trees. Snarling, it latched onto the neck of Lightning. The scarred Diomedes neighed in pain as the blue wolf bite down hard, drawing blood.

"What is that?" Ruby whispered.

By now, the rest of Team RWBY and Team JNPR has arrived, having located the area due to following Rudolph from a distance. From a nearby cliff, they were also stunned by what they were looking at

"What is that?" Jaune asked loudly.

"That's… that's Aura! It's made of Aura!" Ren exclaimed.

"That wolf is made of Aura? But it looks like… it has got a life of its own," Weiss observed.

The weapon-smith landed, placed Ruby on the ground, got up and dusted off his pants.

"All right, you moron, let's take a look at your list of crimes," Rudolph said as he switched Azure Fang into its dual-wield pistol and sword form while walking towards Lightning, who was now starting to back away.

"Let's see, arson, attempted murder, murder of seven Hunters, destruction of public property, being an idiot for trying to attack me, oh, and threatening that squirt over there… Look like a death sentence, you know," Rudolph crap-talked (not trash-talk).

Rudolph turned his sword, ready to cut. As the scarred Diomedes desperately unleashed another torrent of blue flames at Rudolph while the Aura wolf was still biting its neck, he swung his blade at the flames so fast that the wind created from the swing caused the flames to extinguish in an instant before leaping towards it, his eyes emitting electricity.

Suddenly, the sword of Azure Fang began glowingf a pale blue. The glow quickly became more and more intense as Rudolph approached Lightning. A sense of fear and amazement began to overwhelm the scarred Diomedes, who was still trying to dislodge the Aura wolf from its neck.

The Aura wolf finally releases Lightning, only to bite down at another area of the scarred Diomedes' neck. Lightning reared up in pain, trying to dislodge the wolf when Rudolph swung his blade a full one-eighty. Two explosions occurred on Lightning's neck as Rudolph sliced through its neck before landing on the ground. The Aura wolf leapt off Lightning and landed by his side as the scarred Diomedes stopped moving.

Ruby's decapitated a number of foes before, but she had done so cleanly. Lightning's neck looked like something blew up from inside it as its head dropped to the ground. This was followed by the rest of its body collapsing. Everyone watching the scene was stunned at how easily he killed the Diomedes. They had expected it to drag on but it was over within minutes.

As Rudolph turned around, he was surprised to see Ruby staring at him like fans watching their favourite band playing.

"You okay?"

"That was AWESOME! What kind of technique was that?" Ruby screamed excitedly as she jumped up, completely forgetting her injured leg.

Rudolph caught her before she fell. Holstering his weapon, he got her to sit down. The Aura wolf has also shrunk in size, but still big.

From where they were standing, Yang saw Rudolph remove Ruby's shoes. Immediately, her big sister instincts kicked in.

"What's he trying to do? HEY!"

Before anyone could stop her, she had rushed off, making a beeline towards them while punching two random Beowolves out of the way. The others quickly followed, calling for Yang to wait.

Rudolph had just placed his hands on Ruby's ankle when Yang suddenly delivered a dropkick from nowhere to his face, sending in smashing through a tree. The Aura wolf made some weird noises, like as though it was laughing.

"What are you trying to do to my sister, Creepy?" Yang demanded as she stood between Ruby and the weapon-smith, who was getting to his feet.

"See how bad is her injury? And that hurt, you know?" Rudolph snapped back, a perfect bootprint on the right side of his face as he poked his head out of the bushes wher he landed in.

"This is Aura, isn't it? How did you managed to manifest it in this form, and it's sentient," Ren asked as he and the others inspect the Aura wolf.

"It's… complicated," Rudolph said as Yang relunctantly allowed him to inspect Ruby's injury.

"How did you injure it?" Weiss asked.

"Cardin… He and Russel tricked me into letting down my guard."

"He struck pretty hard, didn't he… There's some bruising, and… Oh dear, he's sprained your ankle, but luckily it's a first degree sprain. Anyone here knows how to heal with their Aura?"

"Er… most of us are stil ltrying to understand Aura," Nora admitted when no one raised their hands.

"I'm still practicing," Ren added.

Jaune, Blake and Weiss shook their heads while Yang gave an embarassed smile and shrugged.

"I'll do it, but it's not much," Pyrrha said as she knelt down to ease some of the pain Ruby was suffering from.

Afterwards, when everything was done, Rudolph had Ruby sit on his Aura wolf (he refused to carry her and refused to let Yang do so as well because she was too rough in his opinion) before escorting them out of the Emerald Forest.

"You look rather upset," Blake said to Rudolph.

"Of course I am. I've met Hunters that behaved like thugs and jackasses, but they will never do what Cardin did, hurting their comrades and leaving them to their fate."

"He's not our comrade."

"He's training to be a Hunter, just like you all. Either way, I'm gonna tear him a new one when I get back…"

* * *

"Is she all right?" Ozpin asked as she saw Team RWBY and JNPR return with Rudolph.

"First degree sprain. Pyrrha managed to heal her a bit. Where's the clownhead Winchester?"

Team CDNL emerged the moment those words were said.

"Oh, you guys-"

Rudolph grabbed Cardin and suplexed him immediately. He then did the same to Russel, but spared the other two. Grabbing them both by the hair, he dragged Cardin and Russel towards the other students. Ozpin did nothing to stop his assault on them, simply watching as Rudolph forced them to their knees in front of them, fully aware of what had happened.

"You two better have a good reason for what happened," Rudolph growled.

"What happened? I have no idea-"

The Aura wolf snapped its jaws shut right in front of Russel's face and snarled menacingly.

"What is this thing?"

"That's my wolf. He's made of my Aura, but he's got his own ideas. Now, before I let him tear out both your throats-"

"It was Cardin's idea! I'm innocent!" Russel immediately said.

"And you have no mind of your own, I assume. Next time Cardin tells you to kill yourself, please go ahead," Rudolph replied before kicking his head to the ground so hard he left an imprint on the ground.

"As for you, Winchester… I heard some interesting rumours and I want to see if they're true…"

Rudolph picked him up and forced him to face Yang, who was glaring daggers into his eyes since he was responsible for hurting her sister. Before anyone could stop him, Rudolph took control of Cardin's hand, forced it towards Yang and made him pluck a single strand of hair from her head before dodging to one side.

"What?" Cardin asked, confused as he stared at the single strand of hair in his hand.

(Ten painful minutes later)

Ozpin cleared his throat as Rudolph stood beside him, his Aura wolf still carrying Ruby. Cardin's face was a mess and his arm was in a madeshift sling while Russel looked like he was hit in the face by a hammer. Once again, Dove and Sky were spared because they weren't involved.

"Now that Rudolph's revealed his ability, allow me to explain what it is. It's an ancient technique that allows one to manifest his or her Aura in physical form called Familiar. However, should this physical manifestation of a person's Aura gets hurt, the person doing so feels it as well. It's a double-edged sword."

"But I saw Rudolph getting toasted by that Diomedes called Lightning. If his Aura wolf got burnt, would'nt Rudolph get burnt as well?" Ruby asked.

"It's not easy to hurt Aura itself, you know? Only someone that uses Aura in combat as an offense can hurt it" Rudolph replied.

"As for his Semblance, he has the ability to 'charge' an object, someone else's Semblance or any electrical appliances. He can also used the items he 'charged' as explosive projectiles."

"Technically, my Semblance makes me a power source, in a way."

"You can 'charge' another person's Semblance?" Pyrrha asked.

"Well, for example, er… If someone has a Semblance that allows them to manipulate wood, I can Charge them up to the point where they can manipulate an entire forest."

The students nodded in understanding.

"Enough of Rudolph's abilities, now. I wonder, how many of you figured out what today's test was actually about?" Ozpin asked.

"The goal is not to obtain the other team's Relic piece, but to prevent the one belonging to your own team from being taken. Everyone passes if they choose not to take the other team's relic. In the past, many Hunters and Huntresses lost their lives because they forgot the reason why they took up this responsibility. Hunters protect people from the creatures of Grimm, not seek out glory and act in a selfish manner."

Ozpin then turned to Rudolph.

"So, Rudolph, did they pass?"

"Given how the situation blew up because of that Diomedes showing up, it's hard to say. So just take this test as a lesson why you all are being trained to be Hunters and Huntresses. You protect, not destroy. You work together, not against each other. Probably mentioned several times by different people, but it never gets old."

"Why are you not a Hunter?" Yang asked.

"Didn't want to… Besides, I like making and fixing things, I'm not good at fighting anyways," the weapon-smith said as he gave an innocent look, complete with a imaginary angel halo on top of his head.

_You took only two minutes to kill that Diomedes_, everyone thought as they pictured him standing on top of a pile of dead Grimms while giving an evil laugh and complete with fire and brimstone behind him.

"Anyway, it's getting late. I have to go to Signal tomorrow to conduct a special weapon-crafting session for the new students. If there's nothing else…"

Rudolph left the area, his Aura wolf dissipating after Ruby got off it.

"All right, everyone. Let's head back to Beacon. And Cardin, I'll be speaking to you in my office about your behaviour when we get back," Ozpin said.

* * *

Chapter 3: The Seven Swords

Ozpin explains to the staff of Beacon about Rudolph's ability, at the same time revealing why Rudolph is being sought out by unknown enemies. Meanwhile, Rudolph is helping out at Signal when his weapon resonates again while Adam seeks out Blake, finally conering her in an alley. Just when things can't get any worst, a member of the group that is targeting Rudolph introduces himself to a still-recovering Ruby when she wanders off on her own, hoping to use her to draw his target out…

* * *

**Rudolph's Semblance, 'Charge', allows him to 'supercharge' anything he touches, which means any weapon in his hands becomes more lethal since one strike from them causes a miniature explosion. He can also use it to boost the Semblance of others as well as act like a power source for electrical appliances, although he can't manipulate electricity. This Semblance **

**[Think Gambit from X-Men combined with Ando Masahashi from Heroes, or are they the same?]**

**I actually intended to make his Semblance being electrical manipulation, but Season 2 is about to begin (sounds like big things are happening, and there's a double-decker bus load of new characters!), and I'm not sure if Rooster Teeth have already created a character with the same power so I switched it to a 'power supply ability' instead.**

**By the way, just a curious thought. How many readers thought Rudolph was gonna be a half-Beowulf given the title of this fanfiction?**


End file.
